Waterwheels are well known and have been used to generate power as for example as disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,596 of Kurtzbein. The Kurtzbein patent discloses a pair of hull portions connected in spaced parallel relation to support a waterwheel and forms a passageway therebetween for driving engagement of flowing water against the vanes of the waterwheel. The waterwheel is made up of a pair of wheel portions having peripheral gear teeth, and these teeth are engageable with gears which drive electric generators. The vanes of the waterwheel are adjustable to vary the driving power thereof and have nozzles thereon arranged to discharge water under pressure to provide a boost for the wheel. A brake is provided to control rotation of the waterwheel, and an auxiliary engine is provided to drive the waterwheel when necessary. The longitudinal hull portions support a gate mechanism at the inlet end of the water passageway to control the flow of water through such passageway and have air chambers to buoyantly support the device. The device has vertically extendable legs for ground support.
A more recent patent of Mayo, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,175 discloses an electric generator assembly driven by a waterwheel wherein the axial length of the waterwheel is substantially greater than the diameter thereof and contains a speed-increasing device for driving a high speed generator. The assembly is supported from a bridge spanning the full axial length of the waterwheel and the width of the stream and the bridge also supports an adjustable chute extending from the dam crest to the waterwheel. The waterwheel has longitudinal buckets designed to develop maximum energy over a wide range of flow of water and also discharge debris. The buckets are vented as necessary to improve filling and discharge and also minimize vibration. The complete bridge assembly is supported adjacent opposite ends by hydraulic cylinder units connected to and adapted to raise the unitary bridge, chute and waterwheel assembly above increased water levels to reduce drag and rotating friction. By providing either a synchronous or induction generator with a rotating rotor and non-rotatable stator of conventional commercial design, electric power leads are brought out through a non-rotating hollow shaft to a local disconnect switch and transformer that is adapted to increase the voltage, as necessary, for transmission. Retention of water in the buckets until each one reaches the lowest point of travel is provided by an adjustable shroud.
A different approach to the use of a waterwheel is disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,881 of Slavchev. As disclosed therein, a waterwheel apparatus is designed to generate power. The waterwheel is set below the surface of a body of water and has air chambers that inflate and deflate. The air chambers within the wheel have air valves. Air is introduced into specific chambers when desired to cause a buoyancy effect and cause a particular area of the wheel to travel in the direction of the water surface. Introducing air at specific angular positions to the air chambers cause the wheel to rotate under water. The energy derived from the motion are connected to pulley and gear mechanisms to supply power.
Notwithstanding the above it is presently believed that there is a need and a potential market for an improved waterwheel mechanism to be used as a display for illustrating fluid dynamics. The display will illustrate the use of the weight of water in a series of units vs. emptying the water in another portion of the waterwheel so that the weight of the water on one side of the wheel causes rotation of the wheel. The water from the weighted buckets is then used to raise the water in an outer pipe to raise the level of the water in one pipe to a supply tank above the surface of the water. That water is subsequently used to drive an electric generator.